Flat-Pack by Design: Why Everything We Make Slots Together

Howzit, we're Matt and Josh, the founders of Pretzel. We're both engineers, we've been best mates since preschool, and we live by one rule: don't buy it if you can make it. That rule is baked into literally every product we sell, and it comes down to one design decision, flat panels that fold and slot together, no welding.

Where the name comes from

Every Pretzel piece is crafted from folded sheet metal, and the bends in that metal reminded us of the twists in an actual pretzel. That's genuinely where the name comes from. It's not just branding, it describes how the product is made: instead of welding tubes and sheets into a fixed shape, we design each piece to fold and interlock from flat steel or aluminium sheet.

How it actually works

Our fire pits, for example, ship as five flat pieces that slot together by hand, no welding, no tools beyond your own hands in most cases. It's the same principle behind our planters: the Victor Planter is built from five flat components that slot together the same way. There's a simple assembly guide included with products where one's needed, but the honest answer is that most pieces are intuitive enough that you won't need to hunt for it.

Why we build this way

A few reasons, all practical rather than aesthetic:

• It travels. The Fire Pit Mobile Pro flat-packs down to 50 × 3 × 35 cm and weighs 8 kg, easily fits in a car boot for a camping trip, something a welded steel fire pit never could.
• It stores. Off-season, a flat-packed fire pit or planter takes up a fraction of the space a fixed-shape equivalent would.
• It ships better. Flat-pack pieces are more efficient to box and courier, which keeps delivery more manageable nationwide.
• There's nothing to weld badly. A welded seam is a potential weak point. Ours interlock instead, which is a more forgiving structure over years of use.

It's not just fire pits

The same thinking runs through the whole range, planters, shelving, tables, candle holders. As we say on our About Us page: as our name implies, we'll bend for you. If you've got something in mind that doesn't exist yet, we're always up for a challenge, get in touch about a custom project.

Curious what a specific product folds down to, or how many pieces it ships as? It's on every product page, or browse the full range here.